The Natural Path
by RINTEND0
Summary: What if Bella would've moved to Forks and there wasn't an Edward? What if he wasn't there to fall in love with? What if there were no Cullens at all? What is the natural course her life would've taken?


A/N: Here is the deal, I love love love Edward, BUT I love love Jacob. SO I want to see what would've happened if there were no Edward Cullen to fawn over. sad I know, but I just wanted to play around with the idea It's basically Twilight retold, a lot of the first part is the same. I hope you like it. Review and tell me whether or not to continue this and I will.

**The Natural Path**

Chapter One: _Good Weather_

Coming to live with my father was one of the hardest decisions that I had ever made in my life. Forks, Washington was the opposite of my ideal life. It was cold, wet, and _green_. I loved warm, dry Phoenix. It's where my heart resided to this day, the day that I arrived at my father's house.

The house was nice, old and lacking a woman's touch, but nice nonetheless. Things hadn't changed much over the last 16 years, my father included. He was the sheriff of this tiny town. He was short, like me, and his auburn was starting to grey.

As I ascended the staircase, my dad told me how happy he was having me here and left me to unpack. My small room was just that. It had a bed, dresser, and a desk. The rocking chair from my childhood was also still in place in the corner. Nothing about the room was extraordinary, and I liked it that way. I felt it suited me, because the only extraordinary thing about me was my innate clumsiness.

I packed away all of the new clothes I had purchased to replace the nonexistent cold weather clothing. It's all I would need in Forks because the temperature, on a good day, would never reach 75F. I sighed as I looked down at the bland long-sleeved clothing. I felt as if I were getting paler by the second, though that's not to say I was particularly tan anyway.

A good cry was what I needed and found. I cried out all the feelings of being homesick, because this was my home now. My mother needed to be with her husband and I couldn't take her away from that.

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School was something I was not looking forward to. Being the _new kid_ was horrifying anywhere, but in a small town where everybody knew everybody, it was murder. I knew that gossip spread like wildfire and I had to be extra careful not to send out any sparks. I'm sure that every household talked of the girl who came to live with her father after many years of living with her mother who had taken off. I was also sure that every story had a different reason for my move.

I took my seat in my father's cruiser, a major source of embarrassment in its own, I wondered how many people would be brave enough to look past the rumors. Would anyone talk to me or would they simply ignore me? I wasn't sure which one I would prefer. Don't get me wrong, I'm not one of those creepy loner kids who shunned people, I just had a knack for embarrassing myself in stressful situations.

Arriving at school, I noticed the heads that turned in the direction of the police car. I couldn't take many days of being driven in one of the most conspicuous automobiles in Forks. A car was defiantly going to be a must in the very near future. A full-hearted wish of luck was sent out the window as I turned towards the school. It was extremely little compared to my old school. I had the feeling that in a school this small, no one could go unnoticed as in my former high school. I let out an inner groan and hoped I wouldn't make a name for myself of being a klutz, though I knew it was inevitable.

I went to the office and was greeted by name. "Isabella Swan, we were wondering when you would arrive. Your father told us you would be coming. We are all so glad that you're here." The pleasantly plump receptionist handed me a few papers. "Here is your schedule and a map of the grounds. I hope you enjoy your first day here. Good luck." I thanked her and made my way back out into the misty haze of the school grounds. I paused briefly to examine my schedule and see where everything was on the map. Hastily, I stowed them in my bag and set off to English.

I was beginning to think that it wasn't Charlie's cruiser that had drawn all the attention, when every head in the room followed me as I took my assigned seat. I pretended not to notice the curious eyes as I got my notebook out of my bag. My face was defiantly seven shades of red. Trig and Spanish went the same way, the same prying eyes watched me.

I was beginning to worry that I would suffer through the torture of trying to find an empty lunch table, when a brave soul ventured to speak to me. A curly haired brunette came to me and asked, "You're Isabella Swan aren't you?" it sounded like a statement.

"Yes, I am, but call me Bella." I replied with a slight smile.

"Oh, ok Bella, I'm Jessica." I recognized her then from my Trig class. She started into talking about the assignment that the teacher had given us. We walked to lunch together and when we arrived at her table, she was chattering on about the guys in our class. "And that," she pointed to a blonde boy who was talking animatedly to another, "is Mike Newton. His family owns the local outdoorsmen shop. With looks like that, he could talk me into buying those hideous hiking boots." She laughed but I wasn't truly interested in her boy ogling.

When our table began to fill up, Jessica introduced me to all of her friends. I hoped I could remember all of their names, but I knew that I wouldn't. She commenced in her gushing, telling me about nearly every boy in the school and his whole dating history. And as she was detailing me on the scandals of Tyler Crowley, the bell for fourth period rang.

I quickly grabbed my bag and stood to throw my tray away, bumping into something hard. I steadied myself and dropped the remains of my lunch, sending them onto the tennis shoes of a tall, thin boy. "Oh! I'm so sorry!" I exclaimed with a scarlet face

He laughed. "It's alright." He bent down and wiped the scraps back onto the tray. When he rose, I recognized him to be the Mike Newton that Jessica had practically been drooling over. A fresh wave of red covered my face. "I don't usually get dumped on when I try to introduce myself." He joked; I cringed. "It's ok though, Isabella isn't it?"

"Bella, actually." I corrected, not wanting to look like a complete psycho by knowing his name.

"I'm Mike Newton. It's nice to meet you." He smiled. Jessica was right in fawning over him, he was a genuinely cute face and he seemed nice enough. "Where are you headed?"

"Oh, uhm, I think it's building two, I've got Biology." I tried to remember if that was correct.

"With Mr. Banner?"

"Yes, I think so." I replied hesitantly.

"Then you should be headed to building four," He paused with a smile. "with me. I'm up for the same torture."

"Well, I was walking with Jessica…" I hedged, hoping to avoid further embarrassment. I turned back to see her with awe in her eyes.

"It's ok, she doesn't have Bio next." He replied. She nodded at his words and took off quickly. As I followed him to the trash, I hoped it wouldn't offend her. "So how are you liking Forks?" he asked as we walked out into the rain

"It's wet." I grimaced.

He laughed. "I know how you feel. I hated it when I first arrived." He told me about how his family had moved from California when he was younger.

Mr. Banner wasn't in the room when we got there, so I had to stand awkwardly at the front of the room. The few people in the room talked amongst themselves and I became extremely self-conscious. Mike was putting away his things at his table and when he rejoined me he had a friend with him.

"So, this is Isabella?" the lanky boy asked no one in particular.

I smiled. "Call me Bella." I idly wondered how many times I was going to have to repeat that.

"I'm Eric, call me Eric." He laughed at his joke, I faked one as well.

Thankfully the teacher walked in and seated me at a table by myself. He told me that for today I wouldn't have a partner, because he was simply lecturing over the next experiment. I was spared the torment of being assigned a lab partner for now.

Gym went by very quickly, for that I was incredibly grateful for. Sports and I do _not_ get along very well. Unfortunately it was prep for the agony of softball tomorrow. Cringing at the thought, I walked out to see Charlie's cruiser waiting for me. I ran through the rain, pulling my raincoat tightly around my face. I hoped that no one watched me as I slid into the door, nearly falling. This was going to be one long school year.

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As I put a plate of spaghetti on the table, I mentally prepared myself for the discussion ahead. We ate for a moment in silence, and then we got past all of the small talk of school. it was now or never.

"Hey Ch-dad." I began.

"Yeah Bells?" he asked through a mouthful of his favorite dish.

"I was thinking about getting a car." I replied quickly. He surprised me by laughing.

"So, riding to school with your old dad in his cruiser isn't cool?" his eyes crinkled in the corners as he smiled.

"Well, it's not that…" I paused thinking my statements through well. "It's just that I don't want you to have to leave your busy job to come and get your daughter every day." I had already practiced so the laugh that had followed that part about him being busy in tiny little Forks wouldn't escape.

"It's alright Bells. You do need a vehicle. In fact, I had already been looking around before you came." He took another huge bite. "I've found the perfect one for you." I was extremely skeptical. "And it'll be my gift to you for coming here." Now, I was floored.

"Oh you don't have to do that dad! I've been saving money for a while now to get one." I told him, not hiding my shock well.

"Don't worry Bella, it's not too expensive, I've got it all covered."

"Well," I sighed. "we can go look at it and I'll tell you if I'll let you buy it for me."

"Ok." He compromised. "How about we go tomorrow after school?"

"That sounds good, dad." And with that I could finally enjoy the rest of my meal.

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When I awoke, I was surprised to see that it was pleasantly sunny out. Hopefully the weather would last throughout the day. School dragged on, but I had one thing to look forward to and that kept me sane as I watched the clock. I was actually excited about seeing this car. Although the more I thought about it the more I was skeptical. Don't get me wrong, I love my father, but he was a little tight. For him to offer to buy a vehicle when I had the money was odd. Maybe it was extremely cheap? But if that were true would he still want to get it for me, him being overly cautious and all? Maybe he just knew the person really well? That was a more plausible excuse considering everyone knew everyone in this small town.

Jessica talked my ear off once again. This time she jabbered even more about Mike. Yesterday's run in with him didn't seem to stunt her interest in him. She was a silly girl but very friendly. She was a little too boy crazy for me but still I could see that she was going to be a good friend.

At lunch, Mike and Eric joined us. This quieted Jessica's boy rants, instead she spent the half hour laughing at every lame joke Mike uttered. It appeared that her major crush was obvious to everyone, except him. Why are the crushes always so oblivious? He hardly talked to the poor girl the whole time.

As our lunch crowd stood, I wondered if I would have an escort to class today. Maybe they thought I wouldn't need one today, that I wouldn't get lost. But as I picked up my backpack Mike's tidy shoes appeared in front of it. I straightened up, not very surprised.

I walked with him and he talked about planning a trip with his gang of friends. "You know that includes you too, right?" he smiled down at me; his blue eyes had a certain sparkle to them.

To be included, to be accepted so fully, so quickly. It was nice. I never really had a lot of friends back in Phoenix and here I was popular? It was a strangely nice feeling. "Sure." I grinned back at him. Perhaps he would be a great friend too.

As we walked into Biology, Mr. Banner told me that I would be partnered with a girl named Angela Webber. I knew that she sat at my table at lunch and that was about it. I went to our table and took my seat next to her.

"Hi." She smiled to me. She was a tall, slender girl with dark hair. She was always really quiet and that much I liked.

"Hello." I replied. I didn't know if she remembered my name or if I should repeat it to her. Either way, Mr. Banner started to explain the experiment so it didn't matter. The assignment was fairly easy and we finished quickly. We had twenty or so minutes left to spare and I wondered what we would talk about.

"Bella, are you going to go on the trip that Mike is planning?" she asked me timidly. It didn't seem like she was simply making small talk, she was genuine in asking.

"Well, I'm thinking about it. It was really nice of him to invite me." I replied.

"Of course he would invite you, why wouldn't he?"

I smiled. The rest of the class was pleasant. Angela was someone I found rather easy to talk with. She wasn't overly chatty like Jessica, nor was she as obsessive of boys. She was just nice to be around.

As the class drew to a close, Mike ventured over to our table and picked the trip topic back up. We walked to gym and he described the place we would go to. I had been there a few times when I was little, but it had been many years. The idea of the fun outing had even made me forget the worries I had about softball.

"So when is this trip?" I looked up and saw the excited look in his eye at my interest.

"I'm not sure yet, but I want to make sure that it will be warm and sunny."

I hid the scoff and just said, "That might take a while." With a laugh.

He laughed with me. "True."

We reach the gym door by this point and I remembered my awaiting terror. I groaned and Mike looked at me startled. Then he realized, "You're pretty clumsy, huh?"

I blushed scarlet. "Kind of." I stared down at the hard floor that I would no doubt meet today.

"It's alright, I'll watch out for you." The smile on his face proved he meant it.

"Thanks." I laughed, pushing him playfully as I entered the girl's locker room.

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I sat gingerly, thanks to the new bruise from the first and only time I actually hit the ball. Charlie laughed and asked me what I did to myself this time. He always found my inability to walk on a flat surface without tripping hilarious. I don't know why; I didn't get this burden from my mother. I just grunted at him and he laughed harder.

I sat for a moment, waiting for his amusement at my klutziness to subside. He finally stopped chuckling and I found it safe. "So where are we going anyway?"

"La Push." He said simply.

"Oh. That's where my friends where planning a trip to." I said causally. Maybe, because the weather had stayed nice, I would be able to go to the shore. The thought, mixed with my excitement of getting my very own car made this the best day in a long time.

"Making plans with friends already? My little socialite." He joked.

"No dad, Mike had apparently been planning this beach trip for months." I corrected.

"Mike?" he asked apprehensively. I hoped he didn't think I was already dating some random guy. "Mike Newton?"

"Yeah, that's him."

"Good kid, good family. So you guys are _good_ friends?" He did think that!

"No dad! I barely know the guy. He's just in my Biology class."

"Oh. Well, who else is planning on going?" he asked, although I'd bet he knew all the kids' names and their entire families.

"Jessica Stanley and Angela Webber. That's all the only names I can really remember." I laughed.

"Those are pretty good girls, although Debbie Stanley is the town gossip." He acted as if no one else in the town ever carried tales.

We went silent for a moment. I knew that we were almost there and I was getting kind of anxious. What if I was expecting too much out of Charlie's car shopping skills? Oh, how I pray it isn't one of those overly girly cars like a Mitsubishi Eclipse.

The first houses of the Quileute Reservation came into view. I wondered which car was up for sale as we drove past several houses. I couldn't picture myself in any of them. There were mostly minivans and a few compacts, all early 90's models. My hopes were slowly diminishing. As I was trying to picture myself in a small tan number we turned into a drive opposite to where I was looking. The only car in front of this was an old old looking Volkswagen of sorts, and it didn't even have wheels on it. I cringed and sincerely hoped that this was _not_ the vehicle that was intended for me.

I mimicked Charlie and hopped out of the car. As we headed up the walk, a man in a wheelchair appeared at the doorway. His long grey hair made him look ages older than he really was. His weather face crinkled into a smile, as he called to my father.

"I wondered when you were going to be coming down Charlie."

"I had to get Bella all settled first." He clapped the man on the back when he reached him.

"How are you Bella? You're quite a bit taller than the last time I saw you." I would hope so, I was only twelve when I started refusing the awkward visits to La Push. (Dad would make me stay here with Billy's daughters while they went fishing.)

I would never say anything rude to the man who had been there for my dad through everything, so I simply smiled; it sufficed as he knew I was kind of shy.

"So let's have a look at that truck." Charlie never was never good with the whole patience thing. Did he just say truck? Again, I was extremely apprehensive.

Charlie helped Billy down the ramp and we turned to the left, to their backyard. There was a small shed that held my hope. We rounded the corner to a beautiful sight. There before my eyes was the vehicle that was destined for me.

I knew nothing about cars so I didn't know what model it was, but it was old. Nearly ancient, but perfect. It was huge too. The rounded cab and huge fenders gave it so much character. It was a nice faded red color and you could tell that someone had tried to shine up the chrome parts.

"I love it!" I practically yelled when I turned back to the men. I hadn't even realized that I had been standing there for a while. I could tell from their surprised faces that they had probably thought that I was unhappy with it. "Can I drive it up to the beach?"

"Sure!" Billy replied. I could tell that he was very pleased that I liked it so much.

"Be back in a few!" I hopped in the big truck and turned the key. It roared to life, nearly startling me, but also filling me with excitement. I cautiously backed out onto the road and waved to my dad as he told me to be careful.

The drive there wasn't very long. In no time I found myself looking into the serene waves. I slipped off my shoes and left them in the cab. I padded out and onto the soft pebbles that lead to the water's edge. They shined wonderful colors in the sun's light. The sand felt great under my toes, it had been some time since I had been to any beach.

A few kids where sitting around a driftwood circle. I didn't recognize any of them, but I could tell they were from the reservation. I decided to head the other direction, not wanting to interrupt anything.

The breeze in the air felt extremely nice. It smelled of salt and forest, a great mix. There simply was no place on earth like Forks. The days that it wasn't raining, all six of them, the weather was great. It wasn't sweltering or freezing, just somewhere in a comfortable middle.

I found a large piece of driftwood that would be an excellent seat. I sat on the bleached out branches of the once tall tree. I was more relaxed than I had been in ages.

I was brought out of my cloud gazing by some approaching footsteps. My head snapped in the direction of the stranger. He was a boy, not too much younger than myself. He was tall and slender with the dark skin of the Quileutes. I was worried that I had intruded on someone's land until I saw the smile on his face. He looked very friendly and oddly familiar.

"Hello." He said as he neared me.

"Hi." I returned his smile and suddenly felt very awkward.

"You're Isabella Swan aren't you?" Oh my Goodness! Not here too!

"Bella." I sighed.

"I'm Jacob, you're probably here to see my dad's truck." He stuck out his hand.

"Oh!" I felt silly. I shook hand. "You're Billy's son?" Shouldn't I remember him?

"Yeah, I'm the youngest." He said that as if it were a bad thing. "You probably don't remember me."

"I vaguely do." And I did. I could sort of recall a smaller boy when I was younger. "You put a caterpillar in my hair once!" I feigned being mad.

He blushed. "I'm sorry!" he scratched his head. "I meant to get it in Rachel's hair, not yours."

"Sure." I laughed.

"I can't believe you remember that." He sat down on my log, his face still red.

"Me either." I pulled my hair around to the other side of my face, pretending to putting it farther away from him.

"Hey!" he laughed. "I'm good. Look no insects!" I smiled back at him. He seemed like a fun person to be around. We sat there a moment and he decided to change the subject. "So how do you like the truck?"

"I love it! I runs great and it's so gorgeous!" I beamed in the general direction of my new vehicle.

"Well, I'm glad you like it." He said that as if it were a burden. "My dad wouldn't let me fix up my car while we still had that thing."

"That _thing_ is better than any old rust bucket without tires." I giggled, making sure to sound playful enough not to hurt his feelings. I'm not sure why I was in such an audacious mood. Maybe it was just Jacob that was making me feel so lighthearted, or maybe it was the nice weather.

"Sure, sure. We'll see." He smiled down at me.

"So you build cars?" I was impressed, all I could build was a collection of bruises and scars.

"When I have spare time and parts." He shrugged as if it were nothing.

"That's really cool." I replied and his blush returned again.

"I could show you sometime." He shyly said.

"That would be pretty cool." We were silent for a minute. In my head, I was debating on whether he or Angela was easier to talk with- he was winning.

"So do you miss your home?" he was the first person to ask me that.

"Sometimes." I lied, the truth was I missed it all of the time.

"What do you miss most?" he asked sincerely.

"My mother." I answered feeling a pang of sadness. He paused for a moment and I could tell he was considering dropping the subject so I wouldn't cry.

"What is she like?" he asked quietly.

"She's a free spirit. She's also really scattered brained." I laughed. "I worry about her sometimes." I added seriously. "There were so many things that I had to do for her. She would forget her head if it wasn't attached." I sighed. "But I guess that Phil can take care of her." I looked out into the ocean.

"I'm sorry." He said after a minute or so. "I shouldn't have asked. That was rude of me."

I looked back at him. "No, I'm glad you did. No one else has really bothered to ask me anything like that." A shy grin came over his face. "And it made me feel better. Thanks Jacob."

"Anytime."

I looked up at the sky and saw that the sun was starting set. "Well, I'd better get back to my dad. I told them I would only be gone for a few minutes." I stood and he stood with me.

"Yeah, my friends will be wondering where I am." We walked in silence, until we reached my truck. "Well over there are my friends. See ya around, Bella." He waved as he walked to the group of obviously curious boys.

As I drove back, I thought of how nice he was. Once I thought about it, everyone here was pretty nice to me. It was a welcomed change from the snobby, rich kids that inhabited my old school. Maybe I would like this place better than I thought? It was probably just the good weather talking.


End file.
